Game Rewind: Pacers 106, Bulls 108

The Pacers faced plenty of adversity in 2021, but they displayed their resilience in the final game of the calendar year. Despite being without seven players on Friday due to the combination of injuries and the NBA's health and safety protocols, the Blue & Gold came together and nearly knocked off one of the East's top teams.

But DeMar DeRozan had other ideas.

The All-Star guard's buzzer-beating three lifted the Chicago Bulls (23-10) to a 108-106 win over Indiana (14-22) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The shorthanded Pacers hung tough but trailed for most of the night before surging ahead with a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter and led 104-98 following a Justin Holiday free throw with 2:17 remaining.

Coby White's sixth 3-pointer of the night made it a one-possession game again and then DeRozan stripped Caris LeVert, creating a fastbreak that Zach LaVine finished with a soaring slam with 1:40 to play.

Following a timeout, the Pacers put the ball in LeVert's hands. He got to the rim, but was blocked by Nikola Vucevic. DeRozan had a clean look on the baseline to put Chicago in front on the other end, but couldn't convert.

On the ensuing possession, both LeVert and Holiday missed 3-point attempts, but the Pacers corralled the rebound both times. LeVert got the second board and drew a foul, then hit both free throws with 56.5 seconds remaining.

LaVine missed twice at the rim on the other end before the ball wound up in DeRozan's hands and he hit a jumper with 36.4 seconds remaining.

The Pacers ran the shot clock down on their possession, then had an errant pass deflected out of bounds with just 0.7 seconds remaining on the shot clock and 12.4 seconds left in regulation. They ran an alley oop for LeVert, which the Bulls broke up.

Acting head coach Chris Fleming elected not to call a timeout in the closing seconds as DeRozan brought the ball across halfcourt. He dribbled as the seconds ticked away, almost as if he was unaware of how little time remained, before launching into a one-legged runner from the top of the arc. Torrey Craig contested the shot well, but DeRozan still somehow got it to fall, dashing the Pacers' hopes.

"We were just trying to get the ball out of his hands," Sabonis said of the final sequence. "It was kind of crazy. I (made) eye contact with him. I feel like he didn't really know how much time was left. He looked up, he saw there was not a lot left and he just shot that shot."

DeRozan had a game-high 28 points for Chicago, going 8-for-24 from the field and 11-for-12 from the free throw line.

LeVert led Indiana with 27 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while Sabonis added 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 14 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks.

"A tough way to lose given the fact that our level of fight throughout the game was just phenomenal," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. "We did so many great things to hang in when things got tough, then to eventually take the lead."

The Pacers entered Friday's matinee significantly undermanned, as Kelan Martin became the fifth player to test positive for COVID-19 this week, joining Malcolm Brogdon, Chris Duarte, Isaiah Jackson, and Jeremy Lamb in the NBA's health and safety protocols. Indiana had just 11 available players against Chicago, including two in Keifer Sykes and Nate Hinton that have signed with the team this week.

Still, the shorthanded squad hung tough with the Bulls early. Indiana's stout defense held Chicago to just 8-of-22 shooting in the first quarter. The Blue & Gold used a 6-0 surge late in the opening frame to tie the game at 23, but Matt Thomas' jumper in the closing seconds gave the visitors a two-point advantage after one.

The duo of LeVert and Sabonis combined for the Pacers' first 13 points in the second quarter. Indiana actually took a brief 36-35 lead on Sabonis' three-point play with 7:50 remaining in the first half, but the Bulls responded with five quick points to move back in front.

The Pacers trimmed Chicago's lead to one on three occasions over the final three minutes, but each time Chicago had an answer, first in the form of a LaVine drive and then twice with 3-pointers by White. The visitors took a 54-50 lead into the intermission.

The Bulls extended the margin to nine on two occasions early in the second half, but the Pacers remained undeterred. Holiday hit three 3-pointers and LeVert tallied eight points in the third quarter to keep the Blue & Gold within striking distance.

Indiana trailed just 73-72 following Sabonis' dunk with four minutes to play in the frame. The Bulls responded with a 9-2 run over the next two minutes that featured two explosive dunks by Derrick Jones Jr. But the Blue & Gold finished strong, closing the period with five straight points to make the deficit just 82-79 entering the fourth quarter.

The Blue & Gold continued to hang around in the final frame. Holiday's fifth 3-pointer of the night cut the Bulls' lead to 94-93 with 6:15 to play and then after a Vucevic miss, the Pacers finally got over the hump when Sabonis' baby hook on the left baseline dropped, giving the hosts their first lead of the second half with 5:44 remaining.

They weren't done there, as Torrey Craig pushed the break after an ensuing Bulls miss and dropped the ball off to Oshae Brissett, who threw down a two-hand slam that brought the crowd to its feet and forced a Chicago timeout. Sabonis later found a cutting Craig for a layup to cap a 9-0 Pacers run with 4:17 to play and set the stage for a wild finish.

Holiday had 16 points and four rebounds for Indiana while going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. Craig added 10 points, 11 boards, and five assists off the bench, while Myles Turner added 10 points and six rebounds in just 18 minutes due to foul trouble.

"How the game ended didn't at all show how we played the whole rest of the game," Holiday said "...We fought the whole time, didn't shy away at all, fought (despite being) undermanned, fought in a situation that we've been struggling to find that fight. So to come out and lose that way is tough, but if anything, we need to build off of how we played today."

White had 24 points for Chicago and went 6-for-7 from 3-point range. LaVine scored 17, while Vucevic added 14 points and 16 rebounds.

The Pacers will open 2022 with a two-game road trip that includes stops in Cleveland and New York before returning to Indianapolis to host Brooklyn on Wednesday.

Sabonis recorded his 26th double-double of the season, the second-highest total in the NBA.

LeVert scored exactly 27 points for the third straight game. He has topped 20 points in five of his last six games and seven of 13 contests over the last month.

Two-way guard Duane Washington Jr. got his first career start on Friday. The rookie out of Ohio State had eight points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block in 30 minutes, but went just 3-for-14 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range.

The Pacers outscored Chicago 58-32 in points in the paint on Friday.

White's six 3-pointers were a season high. Before going 6-for-7 from beyond the arc on Friday, the third-year guard was just 18-for-64 (28.1 percent) on the season.

The Pacers matched their season high with 17 offensive rebounds and scored 25 second-chance points, one shy of their most this season.

"We had to put so much into fighting our way back into the game, let alone to get the lead. It was just great to see. It bodes well for upcoming games. We're a little decimated right now, personnel-wise, but we keep fighting like that, good things are going to happen." -Carlisle

"It was a lot of fun. It was probably the (most fun) we've had all year. The bench was great. All the guys brought a lot of energy. The crowd was into it. The fans did a great job of getting us going. We've just got to keep playing like this so everybody's locked in." -Sabonis

"I think we played well defensively. It was fun. There was a lot of energy involved in it. A lot of communication. All the things you need to play a good defensive game." -Holiday

"He played tremendously well...He kept attacking, he kept creating, he kept willing the ball into the basket." -Carlisle on LeVert's performance

DeRozan's game-winning three was his only made 3-pointer of the night and just his fifth on eight attempts in December.

The Blue & Gold tip off a two-game road trip in Cleveland on Sunday, Jan. 2 at 6:00 PM ET.

The Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host Kevin Durant, James Harden, and the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 7:30 PM ET. Find Tickets »